US conservatives lose battle against states rights over ICE sales ban
Since the first election of Donald Trump in 2017, the relationship between the Trump administration and California has been fraught. The United States allows states to make their own decisions in many instances and in the case of California, the electric vehicle regulation from the federal government was complied with, and then exceeded, as the Democratic and Republican administrations have held very different approaches to dealing with electric vehicle regulation, most recently with a new set of tariffs, following an extensive subsidy packet from the preceding Biden administration.
California Governor Gavin Newsom commented: “For decades, California has used the authority given to us by Congress and President Nixon to set world-leading clean car and truck standards that promote innovation, grow our economy, and protect our communities from smoggy skies. We’re glad to see the Senate reject the Trump Administration’s unprecedented effort to bend the law by trying to repeal our standards through the Congressional Review Act.”
One reason why the exemption granted to the state of California still stands is that it is not subject to the Congressional Review Act, which allows legislators to repeal passed regulations with a simple majority. However, the House of Representatives could still vote to overturn California’s exemptions and put pressure on the Senate to act. But they will have to do so quickly, as the law currently only allows for a 60-day window to repeal passed legislation, and this was passed in December.
“In passing the Clean Air Act on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, Congress explicitly granted California the ability to set more stringent vehicle emissions standards to protect public health from California’s unique air quality challenges,” said California Senator Alex Padilla, adding: “This latest stunt from Trump’s E.P.A. was a clearly bogus attempt to undercut California’s climate leadership, and it failed.”
The Clean Air Act allows California to enact tougher clean air standards than those set by the federal government because, historically, it has had the most polluted air in the nation, as the New York Times specifies. While the state’s electrification efforts were mostly supported by the White House, the opposition between the Trump administration and the state of California has been fierce. This is not expected to change with the second term of Donald Trump, especially considering his advisor Elon Musk’s relationship with California.
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